Have you ever felt drained after a conversation, pressured into saying “yes” when you wanted to say “no,” or resentful because someone crossed a line? Then you might want to take a look at your boundaries. Boundaries are the guidelines that protect your well-being while helping you build healthier, more balanced connections. In this two-part... Continue Reading →
Habit Six: Synergize: This habit is all about creating something better together than we ever could alone. It emphasizes combining strengths, communicating effectively, and valuing differences. Synergy invites us to embrace our differences and use them as a source of strength rather than allowing them to separate us. At the heart of synergyis creativity. Creativity... Continue Reading →
When we think of therapy, we often imagine quiet offices and serious conversations. But for children, especially those too young to express themselves fully in words, therapy often looks quite different. Play therapy researcher and author Garry Landreth explains, “In the play therapy experience, toys are like the child’s words, and play is the child’s... Continue Reading →
Habit Five: Seek First to Understand then to be Understood is the foundation of healthy, lasting relationships. If you truly want to connect with others, habit five is where it begins. But how do we practice this habit in real life? According to Stephen Covey, most of us rush into conversations eager to respond, fix,... Continue Reading →
Habit Four is my personal favorite of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People because it shifts the focus from a competitive mindset to a collaborative mindset, reminding us that success does not have to come at the expense someone else’s success especially in today’s fast paced competitive society. Stephen Covey’s Habit 4: Think Win... Continue Reading →
In the first blog series about Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, I discussed habit one, Be Proactive. Habit two is about evaluating your values, what is important to you and what you want to achieve as you visualize yourself living the life you want and meeting your goals. According to... Continue Reading →
As parents and family of young people, we want to help our children have experiences that support their development in ways that will prepare them to become successful, satisfied, independent adults. There are many ways we do this. We encourage them to do their best academically. We urge them to participate in sports, join clubs,... Continue Reading →
Is there something in your life you’d like to change? Would you like to improve your diet? Reduce your carb intake? Maybe you’ve been promising yourself you’ll start going to the gym, or that you’ll stop scrolling before bedtime so you can get to sleep more easily. Have your friends been telling you that you... Continue Reading →
When family or friends open up, most of us rush to fix, advise, or share a similar story. This can be useful, but what helps most is active listening - giving full, empathic attention so the other person feels genuinely heard. Using active listening also strengthens relationships and, surprisingly, benefits the listener! Below are some... Continue Reading →
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